Babylon
The child alone a poet is:Spring and Fairyland are his.Truth and Reason show but dim,And all's poetry with him.Rhyme and music flow in plentyFor the lad of one-and-twenty,But Spring for him is no more nowThan daisies to a munching cow;Just a cheery pleasant season,Daisy buds to live at ease on.He's forgotten how he smiledAnd shrieked at snowdrops when a child,Or wept one evening secretlyFor April's glorious misery.Wisdom made him old and waryBanishing the Lords of Faery.Wisdom made a breach and batteredBabylon to bits: she scatteredTo the hedges and ditchesAll our nursery gnomes and witches.Lob and Puck, poor frantic elves,Drag their treasures from the shelves.Jack the Giant-killer's gone,Mother Goose and Oberon,Bluebeard and King Solomon.Robin, and Red Riding HoodTake together to the wood,And Sir Galahad lies hidIn a cave with Captain Kidd.None of all the magic hosts,None remain but a few ghostsOf timorous heart, to linger onWeeping for lost Babylon.
Old Mr. PhilosopherComes for Ben and Claire,An ugly man, a tall man,With bright-red hair.
The books that he's writtenNo one can read."In fifty years they'll understand:Now there's no need.
"All that matters nowIs getting the fun.Come along, Ben and Claire;Plenty to be done."
Then old Philosopher,Wisest man alive,Plays at Lions and TigersDown along the drive--
Gambolling fiercelyThrough bushes and grass,Making monstrous mouths,Braying like an ass,
Twisting buttercupsIn his orange hair,Hopping like a kangaroo,Growling like a bear.
Right up to tea-timeThey frolic there."My legs are wingle,"Says Ben to Claire.
Words in this poem
- fairyland n.
- The imaginary land or abode of fairies.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- nursery n.
- The act of nursing. [Cf. F. nourricerie.]
- puck n.
- A celebrated fairy, [OE. pouke; cf. OSw. puke, Icel. puki an evil demon, W. pwca a hobgoblin. Cf. Poker a bugbear, Pug.]
- oberon n.
- The king of the fairies, and husband of Titania or Queen Mab. [F., fr. OF. Auberon; prob. of Frankish origin.]
- bluebeard n.
- The hero of a mediæval French nursery legend, who, leaving home, enjoined his young wife not to open a certain room in his castle. She entered it, and found the murdered bodies of his former wives.
- solomon n.
- One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man.
- kidd v. i.
- To bring forth a young goat.
- claire n.
- A small inclosed pond used for gathering and greening oysters.
- braying a.
- Making a harsh noise; blaring.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Babylon is in the public domain. This text is taken from Fairies and Fusiliers, Project Gutenberg ebook #10122; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Graves, Babylon, in Fairies and Fusiliers (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10122, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graves-fairies/babylon.html, id L02417.
Form and metre
Babylon is 61 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.5 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCCDDEEFF--GGHHIIJJKKKLLMMNNOO isA · hisA · dimB · himB · plentyC · twentyC · nowD · cowD · seasonE · onE · smiledF · childF · secretly · misery · waryG · faeryG · batteredH · scatteredH · ditchesI · witchesI · elvesJ · shelvesJ · goneK · oberonK · solomonK · hoodL · woodL · hidM · kiddM · hostsN · ghostsN · onO · babylonO
- 2 -A-A philosopher · claireA · man · hairA
- 3 -A-A written · readA · understand · needA
- 4 -A-A now · funA · claire · doneA
- 5 -A-A philosopher · aliveA · tigers · driveA
- 6 -A-A fiercely · grassA · mouths · assA
- 7 -A-A buttercups · hairA · kangaroo · bearA
- 8 -A-A time · thereA · wingle · claireA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The child alone a poet is: | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Spring and Fairyland are his. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Truth and Reason show but dim, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And all's poetry with him. | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Rhyme and music flow in plenty | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| For the lad of one-and-twenty, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| But Spring for him is no more now | 8 | ········ |
| Than daisies to a munching cow; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Just a cheery pleasant season, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Daisy buds to live at ease on. | 8 | /˘······ |
| He's forgotten how he smiled | 8 | ·˘/˘···˘ |
| And shrieked at snowdrops when a child, | 8 | ········ |
| Or wept one evening secretly | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| For April's glorious misery. | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Wisdom made him old and wary | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Banishing the Lords of Faery. | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| Wisdom made a breach and battered | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Babylon to bits: she scattered | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| To the hedges and ditches | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| All our nursery gnomes and witches. | 9 | ·//˘˘··/˘ |
| Lob and Puck, poor frantic elves, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Drag their treasures from the shelves. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Jack the Giant-killer's gone, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Mother Goose and Oberon, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Bluebeard and King Solomon. | 7 | /···/˘˘ |
| Robin, and Red Riding Hood | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Take together to the wood, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| And Sir Galahad lies hid | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In a cave with Captain Kidd. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| None of all the magic hosts, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| None remain but a few ghosts | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Of timorous heart, to linger on | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Weeping for lost Babylon. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Old Mr. Philosopher | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Comes for Ben and Claire, | 5 | ····· |
| An ugly man, a tall man, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| With bright-red hair. | 4 | ···· |
| The books that he's written | 6 | ····/˘ |
| No one can read. | 4 | ···· |
| "In fifty years they'll understand: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Now there's no need. | 4 | ···· |
| "All that matters now | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Is getting the fun. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Come along, Ben and Claire; | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| Plenty to be done." | 5 | /˘··· |
| Then old Philosopher, | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Wisest man alive, | 5 | /˘·˘/ |
| Plays at Lions and Tigers | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Down along the drive-- | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| Gambolling fiercely | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Through bushes and grass, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Making monstrous mouths, | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| Braying like an ass, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Twisting buttercups | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| In his orange hair, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Hopping like a kangaroo, | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Growling like a bear. | 5 | /˘··· |
| Right up to tea-time | 5 | ····· |
| They frolic there. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| "My legs are wingle," | 5 | ····· |
| Says Ben to Claire. | 4 | ···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.